Sephira
by Aggressively Hospitable
Summary: This is Sephira's story- how she went from a brave little girl to a great savior and legend. This story is influenced by Atlantis, The Little Mermaid and Star Trek and most likely will make references to them.
1. Chapter 1

_**Sephira **_

_**Back Story **_

Imagine- six even seven thousand years ago- there is a rumor of a great nation, with advanced technology and superior powers because a star- a great source of immeasurable power has blessed a people by it's presence.

Because of the star's presence the people of this nation were indeed very great. They lived longer, grew stronger and were the most brilliant of all peoples at the time. Some might call this power- magic, some might call it science but either way this nation was in line for world domination.

However sometimes the best laid plans go astray. The reason this great nation was reduced to a simple rumor is because of the aftermath of greed. Greed by the royal family who misused the power given into their hands and who ruined all hope for it's people until the unimaginable happened.

The story goes that this royal family had twin sons who bickered bitterly because of competition with each other turned to hatred. Also two girls one older than the twin boys and one younger than the twins as well. The two sisters made a promise to one another- to never allow their brothers to destroy each other. But sadly that promise was impossible to keep. Since the brother's hatred for each other was so strong it outweighed the love they had for anyone else. That hatred was further fueled by a power struggle for the kingdom itself which in turn rips the kingdom in half.

Some would call this ancient nation Atlantis and in some translations that would be correct but these people called themselves Nanani's after the land they called Ainanani or Nanani for short. The name means beautiful land but after all the bloodshed that occurs- none of it would be deemed beautiful. In fact if you can manage to find this now cursed land- you will see deep scars- the land is dead, it has no minerals, no plants, no life what so ever. You might as well be on the lunar surface itself. The sun can not even find it since it now lies inside a great mountain range- the location of which has been lost in time.

But perhaps we should start at the beginning- so you can see for yourself how everything came to be and how a brave little girl became the Great Illustrious Sephira.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 1 **_

It was yet another hot summer morning when a little princess stirred in her bed. She had dark raven black curly hair and big dark brown eyes to match. Her skin was golden brown showing her adventures she had had in the summer sun. Her mother comes in and sits on her bed and gently wakes up her little girl.

"Good morning sweetheart." Her mother says with a sweet cheerful voice.

"Good morning mommy." The little girl replies while rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Well it's time to get up. Places to go- things to learn."

"No...more sleep...please?" The little princess asks- eyes still half closed but with a pleading smile across her face.

"Now Nadia...you know the rules."

"Please mommy? Just like 5 more minutes? Maybe an hour or two?"

Nadia's mother begins to laugh.

"Oh sweetie, you are just too much...fine- 10 minutes- only because you said please more than once."

"Thank you mommy." Nadia said as she rolled over to catch just a few more zzz's but before she knew it the 10 minutes were up and she begrudgingly got out of bed. She sat down at her vanity and brushed her hair then put it up in a pony tail. She goes over to her dresser and puts on her school outfit. She grabs her books and her leather bag and goes outside her room and to the royal academy for her lessons.

Despite sleeping in the extra 10 minutes she was still early. She hated being late almost as much as she loved sleeping in. Her classes bored her to no end...as usual. Because of her close connections with the star itself she was exceptionally brilliant- even among Nanani's standards. Even though she is only 11 she is at least five times smarter than most who graduate the higher learning centers.

But she is plagued by two brothers- they are twins- and have quarreled since the womb. And right now they are 6 and have not grown out of their terrible two's it seems. Despite her own brilliance she can not for the life of her devise a way for her brothers to live in peace. But thankfully in the summer- classes are only in the morning- the children are left to do what they desire in the afternoons. Nadia usually split up her time between reading, playing and spending hours in front of the star.

At this point- the Nanani's had built a temple to the star- and Nadia would go and simply sit in one of the door ways to the room where the star resided. It was as if the star and herself could communicate without words and soon Nadia had figured out that with prolonged visits with the star she would become slightly telepathic and telekinetic but she did her best to keep this to herself.

Things continued on like this for many years. Nadia found herself on the royal council- the youngest one yet since she was not yet 20 and all of her contemporaries were at least 10 to 30 times her age. But yet she didn't let that intimidate her. But that is not to say she didn't have fears. Her brother's general disdain for each other gave her almost constant worry since it had recently become more violent and involved her brothers' many friends. However since she was the oldest she was looked to as the next heir to the throne.

But even this did not ease her mind. Because her own brothers' greed brought her to believe it was just a matter of time before they would rip each other to shreds- if not politically then most certainly physically. The only bit of comfort she could take is that she now had a little sister- one who was 10 years younger than herself. And both of her brothers doted on this sister. It was the only thing they agreed upon. And would shamelessly vie for her attention.

One day after her visit with the star- Nadia passed one of her brothers while he was with his friends in the hall way. It was Cian and in her mind came his voice- his thoughts- and they disturbed her at the shear violence and deviousness. She looked at him as if he had said it out loud. He looked at her like she was crazy and continued on. She stole away in a door way as tears flooded her eyes. She went to her parents with her findings but she had no real proof. And she would not get real proof for another 5 years. And at this point she had many times searched her brothers' minds for the scheme she had uncovered but could never come up with any real tangible evidence but had heard the scheme within her mind many times. Her brothers were biding their time. Since no man had stepped forward to be her companion for the throne she ran the risk of her brothers receiving the power to rule themselves. And this is the moment they would spring their trap and all out war would ensue.

Despite all of her efforts. No man at the time would step forward to marry her and take the throne- they had all fallen victim to her brothers' bullying and threats if not that then they would meet very 'unfortunate accidents' it was all done at both of her brothers' hands.

Then the fated day arrived. She was announced no longer as the crown princess. The power of the kingdom would be split among her two brothers since they both had gotten married at this point and were then deemed acceptable because of some recent 'good behavior' but Nadia knew the truth- it was all a lie. But no one would believe her.

Every day after that she waited for the floor to drop. Fortunately she didn't have to wait long. Her other brother Daren's wife had a miscarriage but blamed Cian's wife for poisoning her since she too was pregnant and the race for the first heir was in her favor. Nadia and her own sister Abril just sat in disbelief as they watched their own dear kingdom fall to pieces in their brothers hands. And from this tragic loss- all hell broke loose.

The brothers then used this to divide kingdom- even their parents. Nadia watched further, helplessly as her once great father was powerless to bring peace to even his own family he became deathly ill. Her own mother upon grief of all this- killed herself less than a week later.

This is the turning point for Nadia. She has seen her brothers rip everything she held precious to pieces. And they would pay heavily for it. She stormed past her sisters room in a fit of rage. When her sister answered the door she knew bad things were going to happen.

"What are you doing Nadia?" Her sister bravely asked.

"I am going to stop this ridiculous war- once and for all. It has gone too far." And with that Nadia stormed away- her sister running behind her trying to keep up with the very brisk walk her sister was sporting. Nadia's face was fiercely focused on how she could accomplish such a task. All her mind could think about was that star.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 2**_

"What do you plan to do?" Abril asked- obviously very worried.

"I plan on making Cian and Daren pay for what they did to us- I will stop this one way or another."

"But they're our own family. You can't kill them."

"Why? It is because of _**them**_ that our parents are dead! Along with countless millions who have killed each other because our brothers can not get along. They have fought their entire lives and today I will end this madness!" She screamed in furious exasperation.

"So you _are_ going to kill them?"

"No- but I will separate them- heaven help me."

"So you are going to send half the nation to the other side of the planet- how?"

"I don't know."

"But they will surely somehow find a way to continue to fight, you know this as well as I do."

"So perhaps we need more drastic measures."

"What possible measures do we have other than total annihilation?"

"I don't know- that's why I am going to the star itself- it brought us to greatness- it may be able to keep us from taking ourselves off the face of the earth."

They reached the temple and only Nadia entered the room. She got closer to the star than anyone had ever gotten- even the priests dare not go that close for fear of their lives- Nadia had no such fear. She went down on one knee and bowed her head as if in earnest prayer. The star then became much bigger and brighter as if enveloping Nadia. Nadia then raised her head and stood up with arms out wide as if welcoming the star into her person. And her whole body began to change.

Her once raven black curly hair was replaced by white, strait and flowing, almost weightless looking hair. Her skin became much paler her body gave off an eery glow that she lit up the room all by herself. But the changes were still happening- along with her eyes- instead of deep, dark brown now they were very bright, luminescent blue. She floated in the middle of the room while the star turned itself into thick rings encircling her. Until she had absorbed all of it. Her feet gently touched the ground. And her eyes opened wide and looked at her sister. Abril jumped back about 5 feet when she saw her sister. It was as if Nadia had been replaced by something that looked like her sister but all together wasn't her.

"What happened to you? You're...blue... like sapphires." Abril asked- bracing herself against a pillar.

"That doesn't matter but I know how I can achieve peace."

"How?" Abril asked as she followed her sister out to the launching platform where they had their Pegasus'

"Neither of them deserves death by my hand-but I will be separating the two by what ever means necessary."

"And what about those who have already sworn an allegiance to them?"

"I will separate them as well- don't wait up for me for I do not know when I will return. But the pain must stop today Abril- goodbye." And with that she hugged her sister, hopped on her Pegasus Valiant and they leaped off the launch platform and landed just short of the battle grounds where the war was in full swing. Nadia focused her gaze and saw her brothers fighting each other- it was to the point where one of them was going to deal a death blow to the other. Nadia looked down at her hands and saw her palms were glowing bright blue almost white. She slapped her hands together so hard- it sounded like a sonic boom with the after effect of the loudest thunder that you can feel in your chest. All fell silent on the battlefield as everyone went slack jawed and stared in amazement at the glowing being before them. Nadia floated about 6 inches off the ground as she went to them- floating on nothing- looking godlike to the point everyone would bow in her presence. Her brothers were frozen in fear for they did not recognize her. She goes up to them- apparent displeasure on her face- her brothers out of fear- bow on one knee.

"You have done great things. Great _horrible, cruel _things. You are brothers are you not? Yet you rip apart your own family and turn my mighty kingdom in on itself. For what? Greed? Jealousy? Or simple unadulterated hatred? How do you answer for yourselves?"

"We do not know how to answer your grace." Cian answered.

"'_We are ashamed_' was the answer I sought after. Now stand up and look around you. Look at the blood soaked ground under your feet, look at the piles of corpses around you- those people were once your devoted subjects yet their lives are prematurely extinguished. The tragedy you bring upon yourselves and all those who follow you and would call you king is great indeed. Better yet look at the faces of your loyal subjects that are still at your side- they are covered in blood, sweat and tears, for you have made them kill their own brothers in turn, brothers who unlike yourselves, they loved dearly but because of your deviousness- you have turned them against one another to mirror you own life. And you (pointing to Daren) I know that your dear wife simply had a miscarriage. It's sad and unfortunate but the truth is she was never poisoned. But you unjustly used it against your brother."

"Excuse me your grace but how do you know all of this? And who are you anyway?" Daren asked becoming slightly defiant in his tone.

"I am the star that has brought your nation to greatness- I inhabit your sister Nadia's body for now- I needed her voice and she needed my power to do what she has always wanted- to bring peace to both of you- but I have seen your hearts and I know that no such peace can exist except in separation. So if that is her desire- than I will fulfill it." Nadia now raised her head and voice to address everyone.

"Please- if everyone wishes to keep living- separate yourselves. All who wish to call Cian their only king- please- go to the east and congregate there. All those who wish to call Daren their king- go to the west and congregate there also." And the soldiers obeyed.

So once everyone had been separated she made the announcement.

"Everyone who is for King Cian- go to the boats and await my instructions." Then a great groaning came about that group for they knew they would be sent away.

"Hey! Do not groan over my instructions for they will save your life." She reminded them. She floated back to Valiant and took to the skies once more. She came back to the city and made the same announcement to separate themselves and all that belonged to them. Then she performed her first miracle. She held out her hands and made the motion to pick up something heavy. When she did this all of her shone bright white- brighter than the afternoon sun. She lifted half the kingdom from it's foundations up- off the ground. Panic soon ensued. But she commanded them to remain calm. She then floated to the sea shore and began to float on top of the water itself. All of the soldiers who were in the boats were awed in amazement but followed her as she glided across the water- never touching the surface. The boats were at full speed but could barely keep up with her- after 5 days of following her when all land was clearly out of sight she stopped and gently let down half the kingdom to the surface of the water. She was still holding it up to keep it from sinking but she came to the center of it and waited for everyone to reassemble.

"So what shall we call you? If you are no longer my sister Nadia but not entirely the star itself anymore?" Cian asked. Nadia thought for a moment and she knew that she had been bonded to the star too long to completely go back to her old self- then she thought about what her sister had said about her appearance.

"Sephira- since I do appear to be slightly blue- Nadia's favorite color. Now listen very carefully. I have brought you here- to the middle of what appears to be no where- do not panic- this is only the beginning of a whole new life for all of you, the beginning of greatness- Now I know Daren- he will not stop his quest to overtake you- that is why I will hide you from him or anyone else who means to do you harm. And with your concealment you will keep your long life, your strength and all the other blessings you have had up until now. However in order to accomplish this- I will need to change all of you." A loud gasp could be heard over the entire assembly.

"Change us? How? What will you do to us?" Cian asked

"You will be a new race. Since I know you and all who choose to follow you love the water...you will...live in it."

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Cian asked in disbelief.

"I will make it possible for you to live in the water."

"Wait- live _on _the water or _in _the water? How? By turning us into fish? But we eat fish!"

"Not exactly- you will keep your upper bodies the way they are but your legs will turn to a tail with fins- you will breath the water like you do the air. But the upside is all the oceans are yours- you have no competition- the only thing to do is expand. Where as Daren still has the other nations who roam the earth to contend with- your lives will be full of peace. All the bounty of the oceans- are now in your hands. And I will keep a watchful eye on you and your family and continue to bless you. Please- this is not a punishment by any means- this is actually a blessing for all of you. So what I will do is let the city sink till it is up to your bellies. And a change will occur in all of you- do not be frightened for it will not hurt- I promise." With that she let down her hands a little and the streets began to get flooded and the water came to everyone's waist and sure enough they were all transformed. The young ones took to the water as if it was a second nature. The older ones took their time getting used to the new change. She also changed all the animals to adapt to the water as well. Then she gradually let the city sink to the bottom of the ocean.

"Congratulate yourselves. You are now a new race- Merpeople."

Once safely settled, she found among some wreckage a trident along with some odd gold- an alloy of gold and something else- something she had not come in contact with before. A rare mineral from a meteorite perhaps. The star recognized the meteorite's metal as from it's own system and became bonded to the metal. She used part of the gold and forged a sphere and with the other portions she made arm bands to signify royalty. She brought these items to her people and told them that if they ever needed her- to use the trident to call her and she would come. She gave them further instructions of how to live under the sea and with that- left them to live their lives until needed. When she came to the surface- she was on a new mission- deal with everyone else...


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 3**_

"Now...to take care of everything else." Sephira said to herself- already liking the name. She arrived at what was left of her kingdom. Daren was waiting for her- rather impatiently.

"Where have you been?"

"Doing the impossible- imposing peace- why?"

"Where did you take them?"

"Why should you care? You now have no competition therefore- no reason that peace can not consume the kingdom- you should be thanking me- you ungrateful hellion."

"Whatever Nadia" Daren scoffed and tried to walk away.

"That's not my name anymore." Sephira coolly said which got Daren to stop dead in his tracks.

"What?" He said as he whipped around to stare at her incredulously.

"Did I stutter?" She asked giving him a leery look.

"So what would you call yourself?"

"Sephira- since I do appear to be blue."

"But didn't the priests warn that if anyone had done what you have done- they would be lost the star itself?"

"While that possibility is not far from my mind- I would think not, it hasn't been that long since I became bonded and besides I have been building up a tolerance to it's power for years. I am not as weak as you think."  
"Oh no- for I believe you are weaker." He taunted. Sephira narrowed her vision and glared at him- waiting for him to shrink back. Because what could he be thinking? Why would he insult the very being that just gave him complete power over his half of the kingdom? But this was a sign that he may not have been worthy the way Cian was. Despite everything that had happened- Cian was genuine in his gratitude and showed a measure of humility. But Daren on the other hand- clearly needed an attitude adjustment.

"How dare you talk to me that way! Do you not know the power _**I possess? **_Don't you know that I was only trying to be _**fair**_ in letting you keep half the kingdom instead of just killing you where you stood on the battlefield? Do you know how easily I could erase all memories of you from everyone still living? And while that would satisfy most- that would not be enough for me- you know why? Because what makes me the most incensed is your attitude! Dad was so forlorn over this he let the common cold take him out without a fight- and Mom? The one who gave all of us life and who did her best as a mother and queen- _**killed herself **_because _**she couldn't handle the grief **_you and Cian caused. And you lead millions to slaughter on top of that. Are you proud of yourself? Oh mighty Daren? Because even the most backward savage would have the decency and civility to try to make amends or at least show the slightest bit of remorse. But clearly your heart is colder than ice and harder than iron. And your head couldn't be more without sense than it is right now. You know what? Forget it! I am stripping whatever power and authority you ever thought you could have from you. You are no longer a king in fact you will no longer hold any office of respectability, authority or power. You will live as a commoner in your own kingdom unless you can not handle such a disgrace then you are welcome to roam about the earth at will. So what will it be? It's your decision."

Daren stood there- with a rather blank stare on his face obviously in shock then his face grew darker with anger.

"You wouldn't dare- because the half of the kingdom _**you **_left here has called _**me **_their king- you would have mutiny and rebellion. And since peace is your objective- it would be futile to remove me from power."

"Have you ever considered that sickness and unforeseen occurrences happen every day. Exactly how they befell every guy that was ever seriously interested in me up till this point. Oh you thought I didn't know about all the sick twisted things you have done in the shadows. Now I know you were not alone in these endeavors- but trust me- you will get what's coming to you, so help me." At this point it was a stand off- neither was willing to back down.

Abril walked in on them giving each other the stare down and feared for Daren's life on account that her sister was still bonded with the star. She was brave as she took a chance and stepped in between them- facing Daren and made him focus on her.

"Daren- look at me- she's not the same sister- back away- please- for my sake- just leave- please." Abril pleaded.

"Only for your sake." Daren answered as he finally abjured. When he was no longer in sight Abril looked at her sister and asked.

"What was that all about?"

"Daren is unworthy of the kingdom- here I thought I was doing him a favor by letting him live let alone run the rest of the kingdom and the ungrateful derelict had the gull to give me attitude about it. He out right taunted me. Why would he do that? It's like he has no respect at all."

"Maybe so, but please keep in mind- you just took away the one thing he seemed to live for- defeating Cian. If you give him a minute and let him think about it- maybe he will come around."

"Abril- do you ever run out of hope and goodness and patience."

"Sometimes, but you two are the only family I have left so I have to be don't you think?"

"Do you blame me for what I did today?"

"No- it needed to be done sooner or later. Or they would have killed each other- without a doubt then where would we be. But I would like to know- where _**did **_you take Cian and the other half of the kingdom?" Sephira looked around and made the motion to come closer and whispered what she had really done.

"Wow- didn't see that coming. But they are ok right?"

"Oh yeah- they'll be just fine."

They left and went back to the temple and there Sephira tried to release the star from herself. But...it didn't turn out that way. Only half the star left her. While she had not been bonded to the point of losing herself to it, she had bonded long enough for half the star to be permanently bonded to her.

"Great- now what?" Sephira said- almost in a panic.

"I don't know- I'm not any kind of expert." Abril responded. The star spoke to Sephira in her mind and told her a prophecy.

_**I am leaving part of me in you- for you will roam the heavens with my power and save those who need saving. And there will be times when all hope may seem to be lost- that is when you will be called, that is when you will be a savior for not only this generation but for generations still to come. For you are now a mother to two peoples- the ones who walk on dry land, and the ones who will swim in the deep. Protect these ones for it is now your calling. For all those who keep your presence from the next generation onward will live as if new. **_

The last part of that pained Sephira's heart. For that meant that she would live to see her generation die off while she would live on for who knows how long.

Eventually Daren did humble himself and Sephira let him keep the kingdom and all was well until Abril was married and was about to have her first child. By this time Sephira had made contact with different peoples of the universe and was undertaking the construction of her first star ship with their help and guidance. When word reached her that her sister would soon be giving birth, she traveled to see her sister and arrived just in time.

After a relatively difficult birth, Abril was holding her first child. A daughter. She had taken after her father since she had his bright, golden blonde hair that had already shown signs of curling. The baby girl was beyond precious, however in the weeks and months that followed they noticed their little princess whom they had named Alexandria, was different- she wouldn't look at her parents, she wouldn't look at anyone, she would point her head to the directions of sounds but never seemed to focus on anything. It was a great puzzlement to her parents and finally Sephira asked her friends from the stars what they thought was wrong.

In the greatest of secrecy Sephira brought her friends to see her niece in the middle of the night and after examination, the friends told Sephira that her niece could not see since she was blind.

"Blind? Will she ever be able to see? Will she grow out of it perhaps?"

"No, it would take a miracle for her to see again. I'm sorry my friend."

And with that they put Alexandria back in her crib and left.

Sephira never slept that night. She knew she needed to tell her sister the truth about Alexandria. After much thought she finally summoned up the courage and told them what she found out.

"But no one has ever been born this way before, why would our daughter be born this way? Is it something we did?" Abril asked.

"No- it has nothing to do with you." Sephira answered.

"So what you are saying is the first person to be born different, born _blind _is our daughter Alexandria." King Liam responded.

"I'm sorry Liam, I really am but I don't know what else to do, at least we know why she won't look at us directly." Sephira tried to apologize for the sting of the message.

"But don't you still have half of the star's power? Can't you heal her?"

"I have never tried to do anything like that before, I don't know if I would help her or hurt her further."

"Please- you have to try, please Sephira." Liam pleaded. Sephira held her precious niece in her arms, walked over to a table and gently put the infant on the table face up. Liam and Abril watched closely as Sephira put her finger tips over Alexandria's eyes. Alexandria started to cry but was soothed by her father's voice, telling her to go to sleep, he sang her a lullaby that always seemed to do the trick. Since Liam had a very deep, smooth, soothing voice that seemed to calm and quiet all the troubles his little girl would have. He held his little girl's hand and began to sing.

_**Hear your heartbeat  
Beat a frantic pace  
And it's not even seven AM  
You're feeling the rush of anguish settling  
You cannot help showing them in  
So hurry up then  
Or you'll fall behind and  
They will take control of you  
And you need to heal the hurt behind your eyes  
Fickle words crowding your mind**_

So  
Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in  
Like waves of sweet fire, you're safe within  
Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in  
And carry you over to a new morning

Try as you might  
You try to give it up  
Seems to be holding on fast  
It's hand in your hand  
A shadow over you  
A beggar for soul in your face  
Still it don't mater if you won't listen  
If you won't let it follow you  
You just need to heal  
Make good all your lies  
Move on and don't look behind

So  
Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in  
Like waves of sweet fire, you're safe within  
Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in  
And carry you over to a new morning

Day after day  
Fickle visions messing with your head  
Fickle, vicious  
Sleeping in your bed  
Messing with your head  
Fickle visions  
Fickle, vicious

Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in  
Like waves of sweet fire, you're safe within  
Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in  
And carry you over to a new morning 

_**Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in  
Like waves of sweet fire, you're safe within  
Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in  
And carry you over to a new morning **_

Alexandria was fast asleep and Sephira with a heavy heart and with a prayer let the power flow from her heart to her finger tips and it seemed to pour out of them like luminescent milk into her nieces eyes. When Sephira pulled back her hands she prayed once more and let Liam pick up his baby girl. The baby slept for the longest time but when she woke up- all were astounded at what they saw in her eyes. The once gray and clouded appearance was replaced by a bright blue and white swirling colors- it seemed to ebb and flow and dance about but she looked everyone in the eye after that, she quickly learned who was who and smiled whenever her parents, her nurses and Sephira would enter a room. She was healed all right, but at what cost? No child would want to be around the poor girl. And Alexandria soon became a rather lonely child.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 4**_

As the years past Sephira became engrossed in building her ship- it became massive and intricate but with technology and techniques she had figured out how to make the ship appear to be much much smaller on the outside but enormously expansive on the inside- like a real life illusion. She had figured out how to capture the suns power and concentrate it and store it till needed. It was brilliant engineering with sophistication and uncommon grace with the appearance of simplicity while being amazingly complex. Sephira also found that throughout this process she had a helper.

Her niece Alexandria was very helpful and was the best apprentice. However to keep her privacy Sephira built in private and away from the prying eyes of everyone. It brought much suspicion and rumors were rampant.

However in order to answer the rumors Sephira removed a large chunk of the earth and moved it not too far off- it became a sizable hill. But in it's place was a large gaping hole in the earth. She lined it with granite and marble and was able to place her ship inside it, then she built a roof- not unlike what we would call an underground garage. She made the roof retractable so she could hide her work. On top of the retractable roof became a the most beautiful and intricate marble inlaid flooring followed by columns and a very special fabric graced the the tops of the columns creating a roof. The structure took almost a year to build but when completed was one of the most beautiful places since she had also manicured a garden and a beautiful pool of water- the very architecture invoked peace upon the beholder. Sephira took center stage and invited everyone who had rumored against her to come and see for themselves what she had been up to.

They all marveled at her building and soon it was referred to as Sephira's sanctuary and they did begin to feel better and any aches and pains they had disappeared when inside her sanctuary- of course little did they know it was because of the energy radiation that was coming from the ship just underneath their feet and a bit from Sephira herself. She had hosted her first party at her sanctuary with great success and for the time being relieved the pressure. The rumors were dismissed and the skeptics were satisfied however she made it perfectly clear that only those expressly invited by herself and Alexandria were welcome there.

But there was still one critic, Sephira's brother Daren. Who enlisted a spy. Daren knew his sister was powerful, and he knew that her 'proof' was only half the story. He could not get an answer from his niece who had taken her aunts attitude toward him which was respectful but cautious and slightly suspicious of every word, every action he exhibited. Which was for good reason and very warranted. This spy was named Ataro and he was unusually handsome. Even Sephira herself took an extra second..or five... to take this fine specimen in. He happened to look up from whatever he was reading and caught her gaze and was delighted to see her suddenly look away with a slight cherry stain to her cheeks while she walked away. His eyes followed her closely following and learning her movements. Because getting close to her was his new assignment.

Daren had spent an untold and unknown amount of money in getting the services of Ataro. Since Ataro's skills were the best kept secrets among the who's who of the world at the time. Ataro's reputation was far reaching yet unknown to many, even Sephira didn't have a clue who or what he was. Which was all part of Daren's plan of undoing her. Because Ataro was not only devastatingly handsome but had swagger, confidence and savoir faire to boot. He had razor wit with a smooth delivery which only added to his mystique. His hair was a bit odd- it wasn't blonde, red or brown or even black- it was all of those mixed together but yet was none of those colors- it was truly unique. His eyes- gray- steel gray but with intensity. He had a smile that would make even the most prudish of nuns blush with impure thoughts. But lest we forget- he was a professional, he had crafted everything about himself to near perfection but he was also a bit of a chameleon, he had always succeeded in every attempt in getting whatever he was hired to get. However he had been working on a new skill- hiding his thoughts- Daren had told him of Sephira's apparent ability to see into the mind and how it would be nearly impossible to fool her. So this was a true test of Ataro's abilities. So what would Sephira do with such a danger trying to get so close to her?


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 5**_

Sephira had noticed that this person seemed to be always hanging about the palace- watching her. She had found out his name however and one day Ataro made his move and rather nonchalantly made his 'formal' introduction.

"Hello" He called out to her as she passed him in the hallway, like she had done silently dozens of times before. She was taken aback but was polite.

"Hello" She replied back looking slightly puzzled.

"Sephira I presume."  
"Yes and I believe you are Ataro?"

"Yes- nice to finally make your formal acquaintance." He held out his hand to shake hers which was most unusual since it was customary for her to have her hand kissed but she took a liking to this rather 'new' custom. He softly smiled at her while they shook hands which brought out her own smile in turn. Then the awkward silence soon ensued.

"So where are you headed?" He asked trying to start a real conversation.

"Out." Was Sephira's short concise response which killed the fledgling conversation dead.

"Ah, well have fun." And with that he gave a very small bow and continued on his way. Sephira was still a little stunned but continued on her way to her original destination- Abril.

Once she reached her sisters room she abruptly asked-

"What do you know about Ataro?" Abril was in the middle of writing something and jerked at the sudden burst of noise and looked up at her sister in surprise.

"Who?"

"Ataro- I have seen him around the palace for a couple of months now- he never speaks at court but yet is there all the time- just watching like he's planning something- he makes me uneasy, especially since he seems to be watching mainly me."

"Well I actually don't know that much about him, I've heard he's from Basque. That he's handsome for one and has seemed to catch the eye of every girl who glances his direction but so far he has not shown any sign of interest in any of them except I also heard he asked Daren particulars about you so I can only assume he's at least a little interested in you. Since you are after all…unique? Why?"

"He finally introduced himself to me- like just now. I must have passed him I don't know how many times in the hallway in silence- just catching his gaze- the most he ever gave me was a small smile and a glance. And I don't know what possessed him to finally say hi, and then you know what he did?"

"What?"  
"He _**shook**_my hand- he didn't kiss it like it's customary but he just held out his hand to shake mine- it was the weirdest thing. Then he asked where I was headed and I freaked and just said 'out' and then he shot back with 'well I hope you have fun' or something to that effect and then walked away."

"Huh- well that's weird."

"I know! What do you think?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're my sister and you're the Queen now and you're supposed to know everything about everyone." Sephira let out a soft chuckle with a bit of a whine with that last part which brought laughter to Abril.

"Yeah- that's right Sephira- _**I **_ know everything- you can see into other people's minds from time to time right?"

"Shh- don't say that too loud. But it's not an exact science- it's like everyone's mind is a door- sometimes it's open or a clear door to let me peer inside but his mind is different. It's guarded and then whatever I can glean is shallow feeling to me. Like I can't see his mind's pictures of where he's been and who he's met or any family or anything personal. It's all just flat thought. It's challenging that's for sure. It's like he knows I can do it and has since armor…ised his mind. I don't know how else to describe it. But I have the strongest nagging feeling he could be a spy- not necessarily on the kingdom itself but me in particular."

"I think you are a bit paranoid."

"See that's what everyone said when it was Cian and Daren- and now look where we are- it's a gut feeling. And remember what Mom used to say about gut feelings?"

"Yes… I remember, so what will you do?"

"I will watch him like he watches me."

"But what about your "sanctuary"?"

"What about it? It's not like I'm on a timeline or anything, but if you would be so kind as to keep that to yourself since I think that's why he might be interested in me because only you, Liam and your children know about the 'sanctuary', Daren and his wife and even Daren's kids have no clue and neither does anyone else and that's how I want it to stay."

"Well yeah of course."

"Thanks- and thanks for listening to. Well I must be off then. I'm going to toy with Ataro and see what he's really up to."

"Happy hunting." Abril called out as her sister left and went back to her writing.

Sephira went to the kitchen and got a few snacks before stopping at court and watched what was going on and acted like she cared for once. It proved successful at catching Daren's attention however- who tried to 'casually' come over and catch up.

"So what brings you to court today?"

"No particular reason except for the realization that I'm still a princess and have next to no presence in my own kingdom. Granted Liam and Abril have things squared away and of course you are doing remarkably well as Ambassador."

"Thank you, well it's nice you are taking such a keen interest again into the inner workings- I'm sure only success will result." His attempts at sincerity were failing but what could not be hidden was the intense curiosity in his eyes and demeanor. Then as if on cue Ataro entered the court and headed their way. But there was a tell tail awkwardness once he came closer. Sephira just sat back watched to see what would happen and had her gut feeling reinforced to see Daren acting strangely- she just knew he was up to something and she had a feeling that Ataro was wrapped up in it just as deep. Now she was definitely on her guard but she was curious to see how far the both of them would take…whatever they were trying to pull. So she broke the awkward atmosphere with a smile commented.

"Ataro- long time no see." She said almost as a joke- which he appreciated.

"I know it's been forever- so did you have fun on your 'outing'."

"Why yes, yes I did- and you? I had hoped your afternoon was pleasant." Ataro smiled and nodded then looked at Daren to say something. Daren jumped in with a start.

"Well my afternoon was just droll, you know the ambassadors from…." And Sephira didn't hear a word he said after that since her mind was fixated on what both of them were thinking. Daren was trying to fill time while Ataro was thinking 'oh I am so sorry I looked at him to add something. Oh just shut up already- you are going to bore me to tears if you keep this up. _**I**_feel droll just listening to you.' Which brought a small smirk to creep onto Sephira's face since it mirrored her own feelings. Out of the corner of Ataro's eye he could see this small change and it brought his line of sight over to her to which she quickly changed her gaze back to her brother and waited for him to finish. But she could see the grin that Ataro sported while she did so, which caused the smallest hue of pink to come to her cheeks. Which to Ataro was the first hint that he might have success. What saved them was the conductor calling order. Daren scurried away while Ataro took the initiative and sat next to Sephira who was in the high balcony and had caught the attention of everyone below. Sephira fought the urge to move away and at least shift her weight away from him- instead she stayed where she was and kept her nerve. Her senses became hyper aware of him, his breathing was smooth and controlled, he was wearing an exotic cologne that wasn't overpoweringly strong by any means but when Sephira got a good whiff of it she had to fight her lungs not to deeply inhale in his direction because her brain was telling her nose 'must…have…more…scent!" However her brain was also straining to see what was going on in his mind despite hers becoming slightly distracted by his ridiculously amazing cologne. Then a clear thought came from Ataro's brain to hers.

'I wonder if she likes my cologne.' Sephira fought the urge to just come right out and say- 'Yes! It's intoxicating and I love it!' Instead she continued to look forward while trying to look at him from the corner of her eye.

Then he abruptly got up and walked away. She couldn't be more puzzled but she remained quiet and didn't say a word. When he was a safe distance, she let out a deep sigh- her nose was still trying to catch every last remaining particle of his lingering cologne. Alexandria came by not too long after that and sat down and her nose went crazy.

"What is that heavenly smell?" She asked her aunt.

"That would be Ataro's cologne."

"Good night nurse! It's amazing!" She tried to whisper but her enthusiasm could not be helped.

"Shh- we are still technically in court." Sephira reminded her.

"Yeah- what's up with that anyway- I thought you could care less about the little mindless idiosyncrasies of court?"

"Well we can talk about that later." Sephira said with a wink which got Alexandria to nod and mouth 'oh' and sit contentedly until court was over. When they managed to get back to the sanctuary, Sephira let Alexandria in on her plan of seeing how far Daren and Ataro would take this obvious scheme of theirs. Alexandria couldn't be happier to help.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 6**_

After that first real encounter Sephira was finding she was 'bumping' into him much more often and that their conversations were getting to the point where one would think they had substance. He seemed to like the same things she did but she didn't want to believe him since she was just so sure he was a chameleon trying to get her to let her guard down. She pretended to from time to time trying to keep his hopes up and to keep trying. She did while in conversation get to know what the cologne he was wearing that one day in court and expressed that she really, truly did enjoy the heavenly scent. He wore no other cologne except for that one from that day on. He had this half 'I want to please you' half 'I don't really care' attitude that Sephira found intriguing to say the least. Because she was still a girl at heart and all girls can be attracted to a guy that seems mysterious and complicated and seemingly untouchable.

Then a sad day came. Sephira was especially fond of her Pegasus- Valiant who had died of old age. She was in the stables with him when he passed and cradled his head in her arms and cried. He had been her wings when she needed to fly, he had been a hearing ear when she needed to talk about confidential matters. He was so strong and powerful in his prime. He had fathered who knows how many offspring but still none of them seemed to compare to him. Sephira took a lock of his mane and put it in a locket with a "V" engraved on the front of it. She knew this day was coming. She had tried to prepare herself for this moment but it still came crashing down on her. Granted the pain wasn't as bad as when she had lost her parents but Sephira still felt she was loosing a very dear friend. She had some servants bring his body to her sanctuary so he could rest in peace. She had made a very decorated tombstone__for him. Ataro watched from a distance and could see the very real pain she was going through. He had never been really attached to anything like that before but he could sense the immense sadness that enveloped her and he would watch from a distance where she would sit at his grave and talk to Valiant as if he was still there. She was trying to gain closure. Ataro's heart strings were pulled a bit which surprised him. Usually his heart would remain cold and calculated like he had trained it to be. But these feelings moved him to take the initiative and he very carefully approached. Sephira was still sitting in the plush grass as he approached. She turned around, her eyes still bloodshot and swollen from the tears that poured out of them and that now streaked her face.

"What are you doing here?" She said bitterly, rather irritated he was even there.

"I wanted to pay my respects." Ataro softly said, trying to smooth the situation over.

"Why? You didn't know this great animal." She argued trying to wipe the tears from her face.

"No, but I know you, a little. And it's clear he meant a lot to you. So I thought it would only be appropriate for me to pay my respects to Valiant too." While Ataro said this he carefully took a seat on the grass next to her, facing the tombstone himself but looked back at her with genuine sympathy.

"I'm sorry." He whispered over to her even though they were completely alone.

"I really don't know what else to say, I'm not good at this kind of thing." He tried to explain. Sephira softly smiled and looked back at him.

"It's ok, I don't think anyone knows the right thing to say at times like these." Sephira admitted. She was moved by the fact that he for the first time seemed genuine. She was a bit unnerved that he found her sanctuary without being given directions by her or Alexandria. But she didn't really care at the moment. It was just nice not to grieve alone. They just sat there in relative silence as the breeze blew and the occasional bird would chirp. Sephira would just fiddle with her locket and trace the "V" over and over again trying to remember everything about Valiant, and being painfully reminded how much she missed him. Ataro just sat there and admired the tombstone but listened attentively to Sephira's breathing and could tell whenever a good memory would come up into her mind because her breathing would quicken then slow then quicken again. The weather changed to rain but the two of them stayed where they were. Ataro had made up his mind to stay until she forced him to leave. Then it got stormy and he looked at Sephira to see if she had noticed. Once the lightning struck close by he jumped up and urged Sephira to take shelter but she was too lost in her grief. So he picked her up bridal style and carried her to inside her sanctuary and laid her on a chaise lounge. And somehow found a blanket to put over her since the temperature had dropped. He took a seat in a chair next to her that reclined and kept an eye on her. But eventually both had fallen asleep.

When Sephira woke up the next morning she realized what had happened it was like she was in a trance but he had taken her out of the elements and provided a level of care. She looked at him still asleep in the reclined chair next to her. He looked really cold so she ever so quietly got up and got him his own blanket, draped it over him and settled back on her her chaise lounge but was soon lulled into sleep again because it was still early in the morning. When she woke up the second time he was still sleeping but she was contented to just lay there and watch him sleep. Too bad he wasn't a dreamer otherwise she could see what was going on in his subconscious. A good breeze blew and he was woken up and looked over at her and gave her a small smile. She smiled back and said.

"Good morning." He yawned and said.

"Good morning- feel any better?"

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of me, I guess I was just in too much pain to move or something."

"It's ok, glad to help."

"Are you hungry? I can make breakfast."  
"You cook?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yes, surprisingly well thanks." She responded with a touch of friendly sarcasm.

"Ok- I believe you." He said as he stretched a bit.

"So what would you like?"

"Surprise me."

"Ok- oatmeal it is."

"Ok, ok- I take it back- I really don't like oatmeal, eggs on the other hand, I like eggs, scrambled with salt and pepper."

"Eggs it is." She said as she went to her room, changed clothes and used her new toy from her space friends- the P.R.U. It stood for particle- reorganization- unit. It seemed to make really anything out of power it collected from the sun. Because all she really had to manually cook was oatmeal in truth but at least she had the P.R.U. Just in case. She came back with two plates of scrambled eggs and they ate in peace. And for the first time- both felt like they were in the company of a friend.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 7**_

After breakfast they chose to walk back to the kingdom. It took a few hours but they had a nice time talking on the way back. Once they got back to the palace they separated. He needed to get cleaned up and she needed to change her simple but elegant clothing to something that would be appropriate for court. When a maid was fixing her hair Alexandria came in.

"So did you spend the night at the sanctuary?"

"Yup."

"Well that explains why you weren't here. But Ataro was unaccounted for last night as well."

"No he wasn't" Sephira knowingly answered. Alexandria's eyebrows were in her hair line and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"You know where he went?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yup."

"Where?"

"He was with me." Sephira said with a contented grin.

"What?" Alexandria exclaimed.

"Calm down, we didn't...do...anything."

"What did you do exactly?" Alexandria demanded.

"Well..." Sephira said then hesitated as her smile grew bigger.

"Oh come on...out with it!" Alexandria got a chair and sat right next to her aunt staring at her in shock.

"Well...I was mourning Valiant at his grave and Ataro came out of nowhere and just sat there, in the grass with me for the longest time, then I think it rained..."

"It stormed actually, pretty badly."

"Right, well I was too lost in grief to move so he picked me up and put me on that chaise lounge I have in there and covered me with a blanket and just stayed with me, he slept in that recliner right next to me."

"And..."

"And then when we woke up in the morning I made him eggs and then we walked back and that's all that happened."

"You do know that the only places that have blankets are your room and my room right?"

"Well, yeah that did cross my mind."

"So that means he would have been looking around the sanctuary."

"But I watched the surveillance and it showed he never got close to inner sanctuary."

"Yeah but that makes me nervous that he got out there, because I didn't invite him or give him directions and I know you probably didn't invite him or give him directions so how did he get out there?" They both looked at each other and said in unison.

"Daren"

"Sephira- he's smooth, please be careful because you know he's after something and that something is not you. I am just afraid you will actually get to like him and really let your guard down and loose everything." Alexandria warned. Sephira nodded in agreement as her hair was done and the maid exited the room. Then Alexandria whispered.

"But how was it? Really?"

"It was really nice. I felt like I wasn't so alone out there. And I really felt like he was genuinely sympathetic towards me out there. And at that moment that's what I needed."

"But you are _**Sephira **_you have already made it perfectly clear that you need no one, you are self sustaining."

"That's not entirely true. Everyone needs someone."

"To a degree but not him." And with that Alexandria got up and straitened up for court. She had actually put a lot of thought into her appearance and seemed pleased at the face in the mirror. Sephira noticed this and said.

"You look very pretty today. Is there any particular reason?"

"Other than court? Maybe."

"And?" Sephira asked coming up behind her giving her a pointed look.

"Ok, ok, his name is Laban. He is a young Lieutenant in the 5th regiment and..."

"Is he the hunky blonde who gawks at you from across court who has never said a word to you?"

"Yea..no, he's said 'hi'." Sephira burst into laughter and pointed out to her niece.

"You are just drawn to the blonde, muscle-y, army types whose name's begin with L huh?"

"That's not true, I liked Cameron, he wasn't any of those things."

"Yeah, for 2 seconds before Leo came into sight."  
"Oh I miss Leo."

"Honey- Leo was 6 years older than you and he's married now so...just get over him."

"Yeah but people are still living for hundreds of years, what's 6 in comparison?"

"You have a point but you were 14 sweetie it makes a difference when you are that young."

"Whatever, are you ready?"

"Yes, do I look ok?"

" You look fine, why? Is there someone you're trying to attract?"

"Yes, Ataro- remember?"

"But are you trying to attract him because of the plan or for yourself now?"

"The plan, it's still in motion."

"Ok, just making sure."

They walked down and took their seats in the balcony overseeing everything going on. Alexandria noticed Laban hanging out by a water fountain and was 'suddenly thirsty'. Sephira rolled her eyes but encouraged her niece to say hi anyway. As soon as Alexandria was out of sight, and on cue Ataro was right there and took Alexandria's seat next to Sephira.

Sephira gave him a warm welcoming smile and he returned it.

"Long time, no see." She joked.

"It's been forever." He replied matching her friendly sarcasm.

"You look nice." She said looking him up and down in his formal attire.

"Likewise." He said doing the same which brought a slight blush to her cheeks to the point she had to look away and take a deep breath. He cleared his throat bringing her focus back to him.

"So...what do you have going on after court today?" He asked.

"Why?" She asked trying to reveal his intentions.

"Oh no reason, just curious."

"Well a better question is what do _**you**_ have going on after court today?"

"Nothing." He admitted.

"Hmm...Well isn't that a shame. Well, I suppose...if you really didn't have anything going on...and you wanted to do _**something**_ … I might be able to help with that."

"Please do tell."

"Well I did enjoy our walk this morning, perhaps we could do that again?" She offered, she was actually really hoping he would say yes. And to her delight he did say yes. After court Sephira found Alexandria sitting in halls by the fountain still talking to Laban.

"Hey- I'm going back, Ataro's coming with. I take it you're taken care of?"

"Go on, I'm fine." Alexandria assured her aunt, her giddiness barely contained and Laban was clearly in the smitten stage. Sephira nodded yes and waived goodbye and went to her room and packed a small bag of extra blankets and some guy clothes just in case history repeated itself. She could only hope. She was getting quite a thrill out of this.

She met Ataro in front of the palace, they stopped at a local restaurant to get a bit to eat before heading out toward her sanctuary. They took a winding trail that took them longer to get there but it afforded them some alone time to really talk. Sephira could feel he was starting to really open up although she still took every word with a grain of salt, but she actually did tell him truths about herself. Even though she was trying to look at this like it was a game, it still felt so real. And she couldn't ignore the fact that she found him easy to talk to. In fact he was becoming more and more attractive in her sight. The way his eyes lit up when their eyes would meet or that handsome smile and that hair that she couldn't really describe the color of without getting confused.

And about half way to the sanctuary, her mind could see he had opened a small window into his. She was starting to see faces- like his parent's faces mostly perhaps a sibling or two. She saw his hometown which was more like a small village, but very charming but it was north of Basque. She saw his early childhood, how he was sad and a bit awkward and kind of a loner. She saw he had gone through a very dorky stage in his early and mid teens and how the local girls would laugh at his expense. Then she saw how he had befriended a local Lord and that's when the window shut and his mind was walled again and almost pushed her out with it. But her ears told her that his tone and conversation style had not changed throughout all of that. But he was talking about his favorite dish growing up and how whenever he was down his mother would make something that resembled chicken and dumplings.

"Oh I love chicken and dumplings." She said when he asked if she liked it too. His bright smile showed he was pleased. After a few more subject changes they finally reached her sanctuary. They paused for a moment at Valiant's grave before going into the sanctuary itself. She went to her room and set the folded blankets on the bed. Ataro had sneaked into the rather large room behind her. She turned around and looked at him incredulously and asked.

"I don't remember inviting you _**in here.**_"

"Oh sorry, I'll get out." He said as if realizing he had crossed the line too soon.

"Well it's just a bedroom, nothing fancy or elaborate or special really."

"Yeah it is."

"Why?"

"Cause you sleep here." He said as he left the room closing the door behind him. Sephira just stood there slack jawed. He had given her one of the sweetest compliments without using high sounding language but it meant more when he subtly gave her compliments without sounding like a dictionary. Damn he was good. He nearly had her there. She put the few things she brought away and all of a sudden his mind opened again, a bigger window this time. But what she saw was herself, from his eyes. She was young and beautiful and since he was a guy after all he may have imagined what she would be like under all those layers of clothes. Much to Sephira's embarrassing delight.

Over the years Sephira was able to figure out how to look much more humanly normal. Granted she never could look exactly like her old self, her skin was still much lighter, her eyes were blue instead of that deep brown they were before but at least she didn't glow all the time. What set her apart however was her hair- still strait, still white. Her face and body still looked like she was in her early 20's despite the fact that in reality she was in her early 40's but she still acted and felt like she was in her early 20's so to everyone including herself, she stopped aging at that point as well. But Ataro was in his early 30's so it didn't seem like much of an age gap at all.

She looked at the door then at the wall as if looking through it and looking at him in surprise at the images she saw in his mind as he was leaning against the wall just outside her room, waiting for her. Her face was blushed and she got out of his mind before she saw too much more of her imagined self in his mind. She was flattered yet shocked at the same time. Well at least he thought she was hot. But would he act on these desires? Were they really genuine? Her instincts told her yes on both counts. She felt her heart flutter and her cheeks go hot. She took several deep breaths and whispered to herself 'what do I do? What do I do?' She waited for a minute so she could gain her composure and act as if nothing ever happened because she still didn't want her talents known yet.

"Are you done yet?" He called, getting anxious but sounding annoyed. She started laughing and shook her head as she left the room.

"Yeah- you are definitely a guy at heart. Most 'refined' gentleman wouldn't dare say such thing. Especially to someone like me. But it's nice to see there are still those not afraid to speak their mind from time to time."

"You bring out the best in people, what can I say?"

"I doubt that. Usually people either are afraid of me or despise me which rarely has good results." Sephira lamented. The only real friends she had were her sister and her sister's family to really speak of. To everyone else it just felt like they were trying to gain her favor. But she had to remind herself- wasn't he doing the same thing? Gaining her favor, trying to get her guard down by being 'casual' and complimentary? And her guard was back up on high again. He was just so good at it though. She felt like she was on a slippery slope with him, there were just a few moments where she felt he was showing bits and pieces of the real him. And it was peaking her curiosity, part of her wanted to see what the rest of him was like but her better sense told her it was too risky to attempt but to enjoy it while it lasted.

"Lemonade?" Sephira offered trying to change the subject since Ataro's face was saddened by her last response.

"I would love some." So they proceeded to sit and sip lemonade and talk some more.

"So what was the happiest day of your life?" Ataro asked, trying to get to know her a little better.

"Um...I don't know how to answer that. Nothing comes to mind, unfortunately I haven't had the happiest past. How about you?"

"Same here."

"But you have been described as a traveling dignitary from Basque. Which is beautiful country to say the least, great weather...I'm sure at least your childhood wasn't as full as pain as mine."

"I don't know- I come from some less than honorable circumstances that bring with them pain and suffering as one might expect." Ataro admitted. Sephira saw the same flashbacks to his small village, his family was very poor, most of his siblings actually died from diseases that if they had just a little more money they could have gotten to a doctor and could have gotten the proper medicine to be cured. He swore to himself he would never live like that again. Some how he would better himself.

"Truth be told a lot of us come from humble circumstances. But it's what we make of life that makes the difference." She tried to give a little comfort since she could see he was really pained about his past. His jaw clenched and he swished the lemonade that was left in his glass before gulping the rest down wishing it was something else perhaps. He stared into the bottom of his glass as if it could tell him something he didn't already know. She watched carefully trying to pick up on the little details in his behavior he was displaying but having her own heart strings pulled. Everyone goes through sad times in their life, times of loss, times of regret, times where the sheer acute feeling of being crushed by pain can be felt to the fullest degree. And both of them had flashbacks of their sad childhoods but the fact that they seemed to be better off now didn't really make it right. It's like they were still incomplete, still lacking in ways they couldn't describe or even imagine how to be made whole or complete. If only they could see the answer sitting next to them.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Sephira**_

_**Chapter 8**_

"So what difference do you hope to make Sephira?" Ataro asked rather pointedly but Sephira allowed it.

"I have already made it- peace." She said almost in a hopeful tone.

"Oh that's right, I heard you made half the kingdom disappear into thin air, quite the feat."

"It was an easier task than to have my brothers achieve peace on their own. Now I don't know what you may have heard but what I did, I did out of love for the people and I would do it again in a heart beat, my only great regret is that I didn't do it sooner, otherwise there would not have been such a great loss of life."

"It appears you carry this burden on your own, your brother Daren doesn't seem to be bothered."

"And that's why he isn't the king."

"Wait- _**you **_were the one to take him out of power?"

"Yes, I do have that authority, I don't know if you noticed but I don't look 'normal' that's because that 'feat' you just referred to was because I have a portion of our Star's power in me, I had to bond with the entire Star in order to achieve what I did, but the Star wouldn't completely leave me, over the years I have found a way not to show so many tail tell signs so as to not instill panic into the hearts of those that look upon me. But since I have the power, I also have the authority to do what is necessary. And that just happened to involve taking my brother out of the kingship. Now I have allowed him to remain as an Ambassador providing he doesn't screw that up. But Liam and Abril are much more fit to rule and the kingdom has greatly benefited from the change."

"So if you have the power and authority- why don't you name yourself Queen or Empress or whatever you so desire?"

"Because I have no interest in sticking around long enough to do so. So I delegated that to Liam and Abril."  
"No interest in sticking around? Where would you go?"

"Wherever the wind takes me I guess. I have always had an almost unquenchable thirst for exploration and travel. But my circumstances have never allowed it... until recently."

"So when you say 'wherever the wind takes you' do you mean that you will sail away? Since ships usually travel with the wind currents."

"Yes that is exactly what I mean."

"When do you want to leave?"

"I can leave anytime, it's just a matter of waiting for the 'right' time."

"So when will that be?"

"I don't know. But I have a feeling it will hit me like a ton of bricks." With that they both started to softly laugh. Ataro ran his fingers through his hair and Sephira noticed he was wearing a different set of rings today.

"Why the change in rings?" She asked nodding her head towards them. Ataro looked at them then back up to her and shrugged.

"I don't know- just wanted a change."

"So is there any special significance to these rings as opposed to the others?" Ataro shrugged again and hesitated before answering.

"Well this one (pointing to his pinky finger) was a gift from..." And he went on to tell a very detailed but very fabricated story about how they were all noble gifts from kings and princes. Sephira pretended to take every word as the honest truth while knowing deep down not to believe a single word because they all dripped with unnatural sweetness that veiled the bitter poison of deception. Sephira was starting to grow tired of this charade and she started to notice it was getting to be a rather warm summer day, her thoughts drifted to one of her favorite swimming holes. It was a rather unknown location that was very difficult to find and get to but it was the purest water Sephira knew of. And behind the water fall there was a nice cave that she had carved out a few seats in the rock as well as a comfortable place to take a nap. The sound of the crashing waterfall was such a soothing noise.

"Am I boring you?" Ataro asked bringing her out of her lulled state.

"No, not at all, I was just thinking it's getting to be nice sunny day and I'm getting a little warm just sitting here. I was wondering if you like to swim?"

"Is there a lake or a pond or something near by?"

"Yes there is. So what do you say?"

"Well I didn't bring anything to swim in..."

"Not really a problem."

"Excuse me?" He said looking a little uncomfortable.

"I brought you swim trunks, just in case." Sephira explained.

"Well...Sure."

"Can you even swim?" Sephira asked.

"Yes, very well actually."

"Good, cause the water's deep." She said as she walked away back to her room and after a few minutes she came out with a bag full of towels and wearing a robe that tied loosely in the front revealing a bikini top. She tossed him a pair of swim trunks and nodded to her room. He blushed slightly and took the direction.

Once inside the room, he noticed a similar robe laid out on the bed- obviously for him. He got changed and folded his clothes neatly on the bed and put the robe on. He couldn't fight the huge smile that plastered itself onto his face. He noticed the sandals placed at the foot of the bed. What took him by surprise was the fact that they were _**his sandals **_'how the heck did she get these? Oh she's good. All right, lets play.' He thought to himself as he put them on. Once he came out they went off to Sephira's favorite waterfall. Once there she puts her bag on a nearby boulder and sheds her robe to reveal a beautifully crafted physique she starts taking the pins out of her hair, revealing a long sleek and shiny mane that runs the length of her back but because it was pinned up in came down in soft waves that caught the bright sunlight perfectly. She catches a glimpse of Ataro trying to get a good look at her as she walks into the pool and turns to look back at him and waves him in as she dives into the crystal clear waters. The sun rays danced across the soft sandy bottom as Sephira swam underneath the falls and pulled herself up the ledge that was the floor of the cave and lit a few lamps she had previously placed in there. She turns around to see Ataro standing behind her- looking around. 'Oh my goodness, wow he's gorges underneath those clothes' flashed in her mind as she tried to regain control over her instincts that were screaming at her to do something.

"Welcome- to my real sanctuary." Sephira said.

"So this is where you hide away."

"It sure is, granted it's a bit 'rustic' and much less refined than the other, but this one has much more history and character. This is where I really go when I need some alone time."

"I can see why, it's perfectly secluded."

"That's what I love about it. I don't think anyone knows it's here, it's pristine in every sense of the word."

"So why would you bring me here if it's such a specially guarded secret?"

"Because... I had a feeling you would appreciate such a thing. And I've noticed you tend to be especially fond of secrets."

"I can't deny it."

"Well then I would appreciate it if you added this to your collection."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you." Then a shiver went through Sephira and she headed back toward the waterfall and jumped through it. The water was warm and refreshing this time of year but she felt a tap on her shoulder, when she turned around she was surprised to see Ataro right in her face.

"You puzzle me." He said.

"I do?"

"Yes, you are a great mystery. You are given everything but yet you are deprived of what you deem as the most important things in life. You have in my mind unimaginable resources and power yet you don't use them to their full potential. You love your people yet you can't wait to get away from them. You talk of peace yet all you know is pain from your past. You seem to know everyone but yet you don't strike me as that gregarious, in fact you seem very shy. You are guarded yet open and this intrigues me, it's like you have a split personality."

"Well now you know all my secrets." Sephira halfheartedly admitted.

"I think you still have a few but that's ok, my mother used to tell me that a woman's heart is the deepest and most complex thing in the world."

"Your mother spoke truth."

"She did indeed."

"So what now?" Sephira asked, taking a seat in the soft sand as Ataro sat down next to her, so close they were almost sitting on each other but neither seemed to mind the closeness. Since both were pushing the envelope but both terrified to make another move since they were pondering the consequences if they did.

'I don't know if I have ever wanted to kiss someone so badly as I do right now.' They thought in unison but neither would admit it at that point in time, since this was only the first move in a grand game of chess for both of them. An intense moment of silence past before Ataro thought 'you know what? To he! with it.' And he just kissed her. Sephira was shocked to say the least but since it wasn't her first kiss by any means she knew exactly how to kiss him back.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 9**_

They must have sat there in the water, kissing, for at least half an hour. It was surprising neither passed out because of a lack of oxygen. When they finally pulled away both were out of breath but had to stop before it got any further, despite both of them wanting it to. There was an unmistakable desire that burned in their eyes with an intensity that mirrored the hottest blaze of the sun.

"Where did that come from?" Sephira asked, still in the heated haze of the moment.

"I couldn't resist anymore." Ataro admitted, both smiled slightly deviously at his statement.

"Well let me just say...you are an awesome kisser." Sephira admitted as she tried to regain her breath.

"Likewise." Ataro said as he did the same.

"Where did you learn such a thing?" She asked.

"I was wondering the same thing about you." He countered.

"Let me guess, practice?"

"Perhaps. You?"

"It's been years since the last time anyone has kissed me, like that especially, in fact the last unfortunate gentleman who did was_** dead**_ within 24 hours."

"Wow, a kiss of death huh?"

"It felt that way, but that was when my brothers were undermining my ascension to the throne. They did whatever was necessary to discourage anyone to marry me and help me take the throne, even if it meant taking a life... or several. It was disheartening to say the least." Ataro nodded but kept silent so Sephira continued on.

"But you don't have anything like that to worry about, since you know my future plans of leaving and never taking a throne again."

"Well if that's what you want to do, no one can stop you right?"

Sephira nodded but didn't say anything. Ataro put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For?" Ataro asked looking curious.

"For everything, for listening, for understanding and just...making the first move I guess." She said as she brightly smiled. Ataro answered her by kissing her again. After that they played a few water games before heading back to her sanctuary to get dressed in some dry clothes.

Even though Sephira had thoroughly enjoyed Ataro's 'talents' she doubted if they were genuine. She had to admit she enjoyed it, a lot, something about him got her heart to flutter and she had a harder time focusing on anything, it's like her mind was fuzzy while being on fire. When his lips met hers she fought with all her might not to come undone. Now she had another secret to keep. The all too real feelings she was starting to feel for him. But her common sense told her that there was next to no real emotional investment on his part, that his heart was not touched by any of this, that all of that was for show, a trick, a lethal combination. But perhaps he would be satisfied with what he already knew and would therefore leave her alone and she would just have to bury the fledgeling feelings deep down till they perhaps would die on their own. But she would have to wait and see how things would unfold like everyone else it seemed. But the 'flame' didn't seem constant because one minute they felt inseparable, the next they could happily go on with life acting as if the other didn't exist. It wasn't a full blown love/hate relationship but it seemed to be heading in that direction if they could find something to disagree upon.

But a good opportunity presented itself to see what he was hiding soon enough. As an Ambassador, Daren was invited to the Far East on a good will tour. Sephira took the initiative and asked to come along to test out her theories and was not surprised in the least to see that Ataro was also invited to go as well. But this would be a large caravan- Sephira and Alexandria were given their own private carriage as opposed to sharing one with perhaps Daren and Ataro. And a 'miracle' happened. Somehow Laban and his Commander were also invited to go. The procession was Daren and Ataro's carriage, which happened to be the largest to accommodate the large number of advisers and their wares. The second was Sephira and Alexandria who had tricked out their carriage to make it as comfortable as possible. Then Laban's carriage with himself, his Commanding Officer and his General. Followed by several others- mainly servants and guards.

"How did we get invited again?" The Commanding Officer asked the General.

"We were invited by Ambassador Daren himself. What I don't understand is why we were asked specifically but it would be insulting to turn down such an offer." The General noted.

"That did cross my mind- however I have my theories..." The Commander said, leering over at Laban. The General and the Commanding Officer both shared a grin and a chuckle. Laban's activities had not gone unnoticed. Both of them figured it was because of Laban that they were invited. Which of course was absolutely true. Ataro had noticed Alexandria's affections and knew that if Laban was invited, Alexandria would be completely distracted. Her relative young age had not yielded the much needed wisdom and focus that is learned through experience to know when someone is trying to divert your attention. And so he insisted to Daren that if Sephira should come to make sure Alexandria came along and Laban to follow closely behind because Sephira will be distracted by the fact that Alexandria would be distracted- theoretically.

But Ataro had other reasons besides this that Laban should come, all of which he would guard very closely. He was building a very intricate trap- all the pieces were being put into place, one by one. It was a brilliant strategy that had served him very well in the past and he was sure it would work again. But when Sephira learned that Laban was invited she knew exactly what Daren and Ataro were up to. But she didn't say anything to Alexandria about it because that is how the 'game' needed to play out. But Sephira couldn't figure out the design of the trap. So she was trying her best to stay alert as possible without throwing the whole thing off, she had already made the agreement that if Ataro and Daren would do something like this that she would hang them in their own nooses so to speak.

So along the way it was unmistakable that Ataro and Daren were unusually attentive to Sephira herself. Along the way they stopped near Bharat. To see the 'Sindhu Sagar', now known as the Arabian Sea. They stayed for a couple of days, they built hammocks between the palm trees and swayed with the wind. There was one night where Sephira couldn't sleep to save her life, so she got up and walked along the beach- she gave off that eery glow which was only set off and intensified by the light of the moon and stars so she wasn't in complete darkness. Ataro couldn't really sleep much himself and opened his eyes to see an amazing sight to behold. Imagine a glowing being with a long, white slightly sheer robe accentuating the white silk pajamas - nearly glowing in it's own beautiful glory. Her hair was being tousled by the breeze. He couldn't quite see her face but the way she was walking showed she was deep in thought. It was amazing how silently he could walk in sand.

"Hey- can't sleep?" He asked as he seemed to all of sudden be in her presence.

"No- my mind wont stop reeling." Sephira said, obviously tired.  
"With?"

"You don't want to know and it's too much to explain and I doubt you would be interested anyway." Ataro smirked and sat down in the sand and patted the sand next to him for her to sit down. She smiled and sat down next to him- both were facing the sea.

"Try me." He said as he crossed his legs and folded his hands.

"Well, have you ever felt...like... nothing is adding up, like you are missing the big picture, perhaps not even in the same building that the picture is in, like...you were losing your grip..."

"On?"

"Everything."

"Why?"

"I just feel like my mind is racing, maybe 'losing my grip' is the wrong words. Perhaps..."

"You need a lullaby." He cut her off as if having the answer to her unasked questions.

"What?" She asked looking confused but liked where this was going.

"When my sister couldn't sleep, my mother used to sing her a lullaby that would do the trick every time."

"Really?" Sephira asked, her voice becoming hopeful.

Ataro softly smiled and in the softest, sweetest voice he could muster and after a moment of trying to remember the words he sang one of the few lullaby's he knew which was consequently in Spanish. Sephira laid back into the sand and he laid back with her but on his side, facing her as she looked up at the stars.

_**A la nanita nana nanita ella nanita ella  
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito sea, bendito sea**_

A la nanita nana nanita ella nanita ella  
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito sea, bendito sea

Fuentecita que carre clara y sonara  
Ruisenor que en la selva  
Cantando illora  
Calla mientras la cuna se balansea  
A la nanita nana nanita ella  
A la nanita nana nanita ella nanita ella  
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito  
Sea, bendito sea  
Fuentecita que carre clara y sonora  
Ruisenor que en la selva  
Cantando illora  
Calla mientras la cuna se balonsea  
A la nanita nana nanita ella 

After he was done he could see her eyes were closed, her breathing deepened and he could tell she was definitely sleeping soundly, he looked down at her and smiled, contented just to look down at her for a moment before kissing her on the forehead. He looked around and figured it would probably be best if she was not found on the beach at sunrise still sleeping. So he picked her up and brought her back to her tent. He put a blanket on her and 'tucked her in' so to speak before sneaking back to his own tent to try and catch some sleep himself.

Sephira woke up with a start looking around her tent wondering how she got there, she remembered falling asleep on the beach, with the soft crashing of the waves in her ears along with Ataro's very smooth and beautiful voice gracing her ears with its almost divine sound. Sephira couldn't wipe the enormous grin off of her face as she realized that he sang her a lullaby and probably carried her off to bed. She did a soft audible 'aww' and got up and got dressed, they would be packing up and headed on their way that afternoon. That is when 'musical carriages' happened. Somehow, Laban and Ataro moved to Alexandria's and Sephira's carriage, the General was moved to Daren's carriage and most of the advisors were moved to the Commander's carriage.

Inside the girl's carriage however, after the initial introductions, there was laughter and loads of fun being had by all of them. Too bad it couldn't last forever...


	11. Chapter 11

_**Sephira**_

_**Chapter 10**_

Their travels led them through mountain ranges and forests and jungles that astounded the mind at the vastness. Sephira however felt peculiar and was intrigued by the fact that Alexandria figured out how to change her vision range at will. For instance Laban swore up and down he saw a tiger in the jungle. Alexandria blinked twice and switched her vision to heat seeking and saw the tiger hiding behind the tree. She then switched her sight to ultraviolet and as many spectrum's of light as she could. She then noticed she saw not only light spectrum but also many different forms of energy as well as emotions for some odd reason. This ability would save her life one day.

Once in Asia, Sephira made many contacts outside of their good will tour- some in not so high places but those are usually the most useful. Ataro was nearly outed for what he really was when a concubine recognized him. Thankfully for him, she was quickly taken away and never said a word. Sephira promised her new friends that she would return to visit as soon as she could. However soon after leaving she received a series of coded messages warning her of her company. She took note of this but changed nothing in her actions as to not spring the trap. She noticed that Alexandria had now become quite enraptured at the very mention of Laban and whenever he was around she was blind to everything else. She would glance over at Ataro and Daren who wore a pair of smug grins.

They came across Arabia on their way back home. And that's where things fell apart. Completely and utterly apart. At first it started out ok. They were invited to stay in the palace and upon touring the market place a woman pointed Ataro out and started yelling at him. Soon a man appeared and tried to attack Ataro. Sephira- not understanding what the woman saying or what was happening, defended Ataro but was imprisoned for it. Ataro fled as soon as the guards arrived leaving Sephira alone since it was just the two of them. She- not wanting to instil fear into everyone, kept her powers at bay. She allowed herself to be in prison however soon after she was left alone the restraints fell as melted metal in a pool upon the floor as she- hot with anger, she paced the room. She soon had a visitor- Alexandria.

"What happened?" Alexandria asked with apparent concern in her voice.

"Ataro and I were strolling in the market place and this woman starts yelling and pointing at Ataro and out of no where this big rough looking dude comes up and tries to rip Ataro apart and I just could not stand by and watch Ataro get his ass handed to him cause he sucks at fighting by the way- so I jump in and help him out then once the guards come Ataro runs off like a COWARD!" Sephira screamed- hoping Ataro- somewhere, anywhere- could hear her. She was fuming and seemed to radiate heat to the point Alexandria had to back away and shield her face, after a few blinks, her eyes went wide and said.

"You are obviously extremely angry- your energy levels as well as emotional state are almost blinding."

"You think!" Sephira said before she hit the wall with her fist- punching a whole through solid brick. Her hand bled for a moment before healing itself as she paced further, not realizing she could easily escape, she knew she needed to figure this out before she actually started killing people who may be completely innocent.

"Get me language books as well as anything that will help me." Sephira demanded, she needed to know what that woman was yelling. Alexandria nodded and left. Soon afterward Daren arrived- he was wising in keeping a good distance.

"What happened?" He asked- apparent and genuine concern in his voice.

"You should ask Ataro. Because I am still confused." Sephira quipped.

"Well once he comes back, I will, believe me I will. But for now I would like to know what happened to you."

Sephira went on to retell the same story. Daren listened quietly trying to keep up with her.

"Did you understand what she was yelling?"

"No- I wish I did. Alexandria is off getting me language books."

"Well I already did that." Daren said as he passed the books through the bars along with a dictionary and a book on their history and culture.

"Thank you." Sephira said, she was completely surprised at his gesture of kindness but still wondered why the door itself was not unlocked and she was released. She waived off the doubt and took to the young school book- to get the basics of the language and asked for someone to help her with the pronunciation. After 4 hours she had mastered most of the language. She soon understood what the other guards who were passing by were saying. She found that the guy she beat up was just a few corridors down. Once the guards had left she very quickly used the molten metal on the ground and made a skeleton key and unlocked the door. She walks down the hall looking for the attacker. Once she finally found him, she sees her attacker sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He looks up in confusion to see Sephira unlocking the door, coming in and locking it behind her. In Arabic he asks her-

"What are you doing?"

She looks at him and leans against the far wall and takes a deep breath before replying.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions."  
"Who are you to ask _**me**_ questions?"

"Please, just indulge me, why did you come after the man I was with?"

"He is a wanted man, if you had honor you would know not to keep his company."

"What has he done?" Sephira asked, well, more demanding than asking but he responded.

"He has lied to many, stolen much and murdered the most precious of people."

"Murdered?"

"Poison is his favorite tool." Sephira's eye brows go up to her hair line.

"Really? Food or drink?"

"Both."

"You mention lying and stealing- please- tell me more." This was a much softer request- at which the man narrowed his gaze at her and with a bit of hesitation he answered her.

"He lies about who and what he is, he steals knowledge, secrets and anything else he can get his hands on."

"Like rings for instance?" Sephira asked, flashing back to when she asked Ataro about his rings.

"Especially rings."

"So why...what...did he do to you?"

"He killed my brother."

"What? Why?"

"Now _**that **_is none of your business." He warned. Sephira held up her hands in such a way as to say 'ok- I give up, I'm done'. She walked forward and unlocked his restraints.

"By what authority do you do this?" He asks, clearly confused by her actions.

"My own, that is all you should know." The man rubs his wrists, stretching them before asking after her.

"What is your name?"  
"Sephira- and yours?"

"Kadar" Sephira smiles and bows slightly as a sign of respect.

"Please allow me to apologize Kadar- for striking you as I did. Please understand that I only know that man as a traveling dignitary from west of here. He was my friend, until you came along and he ran away like a coward."

"I correct you- he _**is**_ a coward"

"I am not doubting you." She said plainly, as pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in her own mind- _**this**_ was why Ataro was nervous, _**this **_was why he didn't want to stop here. And to no wonder- he was a wanted man here. Apparently his actions had come to light and it was agreed that if he should ever show his face again- he would suffer the consequences of his actions. She went back to her cell- amazingly no one seemed to notice or care that she could have her freedom at any moment she wanted to- but yet she stayed. Once back in her cell she laid down on the bench/bed like structure along the wall, she put her arm over her eyes, trying to calm down and think clearly, trying to reconcile all of her new information. It wasn't too long before there was a tapping on the cell door. She looked up and saw Daren. She gets up and the door is unlocked and she is escorted back to her private quarters. She cleans herself up and just stews about what happened. After dinner she stays in her room and reclines on her balcony- observing the stars.

Then she heard in her mind- Ataro's voice- she recognized this as he was nearby, thinking deeply. He was contemplating how angry she would be when she saw him, how much trouble he was in and how much trouble he had gotten them all in. He wondered if Daren would re-nig on their agreement, if he would live to see Daren after Sephira had it out with him. Why did he have to run away like he did? Why did he abandon her like that? He was ashamed of himself. As he rightfully should have been. He betrayed her- something he had not wanted to do...yet. Sephira concentrated on him and soon found where he was hiding. She goes back into her room, hoping he would take the bait and climb onto her balcony, where she would confront him later.

But in the mean time, she set her own trap- she dressed in her night clothes and arranged the many pillows on her bed so that she could recline comfortably but still be sitting up a bit to look about the room with relative ease. Then to bait the trap- she blew out the torches and candles so that the only light was the moonlight coming in from the balcony. Then once she got comfortable and still knowing he was well within earshot- she made herself cry.

It is a well known fact that the one thing that most guys can not stand is the sound of a girl they like, to cry. Sephira played it up a bit and started blubbering about how scared she was when she was taken prisoner and how she wished she knew if Ataro was alright and how she wished she knew why this happened. And the kicker- how much she missed him and thought she couldn't sleep knowing he might be in danger. Yeah, that sealed the deal. She could almost hear a little piece of his heart breaking. Ataro climbed onto her balcony and tried to quietly come in.

"Sephira?" He whispered. Sephira 'stopped' her crying and looked up, while she was not surprised to see him standing in front of her bed she was an amazing actress and was completely able to fool him into thinking she was genuinely surprised to see him. Not wanting him to suspect her and to give the illusion she had forgiven him for abandoning her, she jumped out of bed and nearly knocked him over when she hugged him tight. She started 'crying' again and he played his part in comforting her.

"I'm so sorry..." He whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair along her head, neck and back.

"I was so worried..." Sephira whispered back, her words slightly muffled from saying them in the crook of his neck, she could tell he had been hiding somewhere dirty and dusty but for now she wanted him to know that she didn't care. He took her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Please forgive me" He pleaded, looking pained at the anguish she was in.

"Why did that man attack you?" She looked at him, wide with fear and the look of innocence.

"It's all a big misunderstanding." He tried to explain.

"Well then why did you run?" She implored. He opened his mouth to say something but his brain couldn't fabricate something that quickly and so nothing came out. So she put words in his mouth for him, 'letting him off the hook' so to speak, which he was grateful for.

"You were just scared right? If it's a misunderstanding then it can get cleared up right?" Ataro nodded. Then he wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs and added.

"I should have never left you, I can not tell you enough how sorry I am that this happened."

"It's ok..." She cooed, a small smile gracing her lips. He then moved a few stray locks of hair from her face and bent down to kiss her. She allowed this and even kissed him back, completing the illusion. After that it seemed to be a blur... 


	12. Chapter 12

_**Sephira**_

_**Chapter 11**_

Sephira woke up the next morning alone, she looked down to see she was still fully clothed, but she certainly felt different, she got up and saw her hair was a complete mess.

"Please tell me I didn't...no...there is no way..." She shrugged off her disturbing thoughts as she brushed her hair out and got dressed. She found her way to a courtyard where her group was lounging, eating breakfast.

"Did you sleep well?" Daren asked.

"I guess..." Sephira grumbled, her anger still residing in her heart, as she began to eat as well.

"Well I don't know how you will feel about this but Ataro came to me very late last night..."

"And?" Sephira asked- his words obviously arresting her attention.

"He apologized sincerely for his actions, explained how there might be a misunderstanding and then left, he is on his way home now."

"So he just left? Just like that?" Sephira cocked her head to the side in curiosity, not quite wanting to believe her ears.

"Yes, he wanted me to tell you he was sincerely sorry for any discomfort, dishonor, and any relative unpleasantness you may have endured because of him but had hoped maybe one day you would forgive him. I urged him to wake you and tell you himself, but he was anxious to get out of here. Although I know perhaps you would have like to say goodbye, I doubt you will ever see him again." As he said this he watched as Sephira's eyes narrowed and she set her jaw, she felt regret that she didn't show him how she really felt by smashing his face in, but then again she felt a small twinge in her heart at the thought of never seeing him again. As much as she hated him right now, she felt that deep down, she had feelings for him, as wrong and twisted as she thought they were, they were still there. Sephira nodded but said nothing. She ate her breakfast and went back to her room. She stood on her balcony looking over the city, yet the tears that came to her eyes were unavoidable. After crying for a few moments she couldn't help the sad tune that came from her throat.

_**Your fingertips across my skin  
The palm trees swaying in the wind, images  
You sang me Spanish lullabies  
The sweetest sadness in your eyes, clever trick**_

(All the while she sang, she kept having flashbacks)_****_

Well, I'd never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me

Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

We walked along a crowded street  
You took my hand and danced with me, images.  
And when you left you kissed my lips  
You told me you would never ever forget these images, no

Well, I'd never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me

Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot try the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind

So you're gone and I'm haunted  
And I bet you are just fine  
Did I make it that easy to walk  
Right in and out of my life?

Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Why can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do 

She wiped the remaining tears from her face and resolved that heaven help him if she ever were to see him again, she didn't know what she would do.

After a few more days they left on peaceful terms with the people and Sephira personally oversaw that Kadar was released, all charges were dropped and to pay back retribution for what was owed to him. Kadar was surprised at her actions but was gracious in his gratitude and personally promised Sephira that no ill will would ever be brought against her or her people and that she especially would always be welcome. At least throughout all of this she never lost her sense of diplomacy.

Meanwhile Ataro had made it back to what he considered home. It was a rather large mansion looking home in the middle of nowhere, not too far off from a small town where his servants could get supplies, he had officially retired, with what had happened in Arabia, he bowed out of the game, he was not willing to spring his trap, his conscience, which he had worked very hard to callus, wouldn't allow him to. He would try his best to become a bit of a hermit, in his large house. He had everything he thought he would ever want, he had his house, his money and no one to take it away from him. But he was not content. He felt he needed someone to share it with, but all the girls he knew that he liked, now hated his guts. His thoughts however still dwelled upon Sephira, even after months passed, he found himself calling out her name whenever he woke up, but he knew he would probably never see her again, let alone hold her in his arms and secretly calling her, his. So one day he found himself in a room he couldn't figure out how to decorate, it was a pale blue that just plagued his mind with images of the one who weighed the most on his mind. He got a chair and put it in the middle of the room and sat down, his fingers running through his now, much longer hair- it still stayed strait but now usually hung in his face. He usually didn't sing, especially to himself but he felt he needed to at a time like this, and this is what came out of him.

_**This is not the end  
This is not the beginning,  
Just a voice like a riot  
Rocking every revision  
But you listen to the tone  
And the violent rhythm  
Though the words sound steady  
Something empty's within 'em**_

We say Yeah!  
With fists flying up in the air  
Like we're holding onto something  
That's invisible there,  
'Cause we're living at the mercy of  
The pain and the fear  
Until we dead it, Forget it,  
Let it all disappear.

Waiting for the end to come  
Wishing I had strength to stand  
This is not what I had planned  
It's out of my control...

Flying at the speed of light  
Thoughts were spinning in my head  
So many things were left unsaid  
It's hard to let you go...

Oh! I know what it takes to move on,  
I know how it feels to lie,  
All I wanna do  
Is trade this life for something new  
Holding on to what I haven't got

Sitting in an empty room  
Trying to forget the past  
This was never meant to last,  
I wish it wasn't so...

Oh! I know what it takes to move on,

I know how it feels to lie,  
All I wanna do  
Is trade this life for something new  
Holding on to what I haven't got

What was left when that fire was gone?  
I thought it felt right but that right was wrong  
All caught up in the eye of the storm  
And trying to figure out what it's like moving on  
And i don't even know what kind of things I've said  
My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead  
So, picking up the pieces, now where to begin?  
The hardest part of ending Is starting again!

All I wanna do  
Is trade this life for something new  
Holding on to what I haven't got...

This is not the end  
This is not the beginning,  
Just a voice like a riot  
Rocking every revision  
But you listen to the tone  
And the violent rhythm  
Though the words sound steady  
Something empty's within 'em  
Holding on to what i haven't got

We say Yeah!  
With fists flying up in the air  
Like we're holding onto something  
That's invisible there,  
'Cause we're living at the mercy of  
The pain and the fear  
Until we dead it, Forget it,  
Let it all disappear  
Holding on to what i haven't got!

He got up from the chair and turned it over, he had lost. If he had just owned up to what he did, if he had just stayed with her he would not be in this agony he found so distasteful. Little did he know that once Sephira had returned home she worked oh so fervently on her ship. In the mean time, things progressed with Alexandria and Laban. Ataro had called upon Laban, tempting him that if the time came and he was asked to do unspeakable things, he would for Alexandria's sake, he agreed. But when things went down in Arabia, Laban was released from the agreement and soon forgot all about it. Once Laban and Alexandria were engaged, Sephira withdrew her ties with Alexandria, knowing that her helper had found someone else to help, someone else to look after, and Sephira was ok with that. It was the natural progression of things. She bestowed many gifts on the young couple, giving them her blessing, her ship was finished and operational, she could run it by herself even. She showed them to her favorite waterfall she had taken Ataro that one day. She invited them to use her sanctuary as much as they wanted, she even changed the bedrooms, she had officially moved all of her stuff to the ship, she removed the wall between the two rooms and instead put in a large kitchen and spa area and got a much bigger bed in there, the bed was soft and supportive as well as enormous, the size of 4 king size beds put together but the head of it was slightly rounded with a large padded headboard. She put in a large closet several sets of sheets and bedding to accommodate for the changing seasons, as well as anything else she thought they would ever need. The night before the wedding she with the greatest of secrecy got her ship out of there. She landed it, cloaked in a large section of mowed yard on the grounds. She rechecked the grounds, making sure she didn't leave anything behind. She took a moment and sat, one last time, at Valiant's grave. After a few words and tears and a goodbye, she rose and walked back to the palace also rechecking to make sure she was taking everything that was hers with her. She had gotten the bulk of it earlier so now what was left were just a few bags full. She stayed in a guest room after visiting Alexandria. She laid in bed, hands behind her head, staring at the ornate ceiling, thinking how everyone's life was going to change tomorrow. Alexandria would be married, off to live her own life, she would be leaving after the reception, beating the young couple to her sanctuary to get aboard her ship and take off after saying her goodbyes. She wanted to go back east, to Arabia to visit Kadar, to India and the Far East to see the many friends she had made on her journey so many months earlier, in fact it was closer to a year. Only occasionally did her mind drift to Ataro- wondering if he was happy with whatever he had run off to, she had always figured he had wooed a series of girls, from princesses to the daughters of nobles to whomever he would lay his eyes on. In truth however, he had done none of this, he had given up that life.

But still as she laid there, she tried, as she had so many thousands of times before to remember what had happened that one night, it was the last time she saw him, back in Arabia. She remembers kissing him and holding him close, but beyond that, her mind goes blank and hazy then she remembers waking up in bed. What really happened that night? It is a riddle that would remain with her.

The next day, everything went very smoothly, the wedding was gorges, the bride was spectacular and Sephira could tell she would be happy with her new life. After saying her goodbyes, Sephira stole Alexandria away for just a moment and gave her one last hug, whispering a secret in Alexandria's ear. Alexandria grinned ear to ear and nodded. With that Sephira went and got her things and left the celebration unnoticed except for her sister and her niece. She went back to her ship, loaded up and took off in the night.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Sephira **_

_**Chapter 12**_

After leaving Sephira left the atmosphere and stationed the ship above the earth, for a few weeks she watched the Earth turn in it's silent march through the starry heavens. She was touched by such awesome beauty. But she had a nagging feeling she should go to the surface and see her new friends. She broke the atmosphere again and found a large mansion not too far off from a small town but beyond that there was a nice clearing she could lay the ship down on to rest. She cloaked the ship and watched the sunrise. She left the ship to make her way to the small village to get some real home grown food, the P.R.U. still needed tuning, while in the small town she got a lot of attention for her appearance, she really liked the clothes from the far east so it must have looked odd to see a girl, looking like she was in her early 20's, wearing an asian robe dress, with white hair and big blue eyes, must have been very odd compared to everyone else. But with a warm smile and a soft soothing voice she could have bought the town. Ataro's servants also took notice of the strange looking girl. Ataro heard them talking about her in the kitchen and was intrigued at the conversation.

"So what's new?" He openly asked.

"There is a very odd looking girl in town today, she said she is a traveler just passing through but she spoke the language as if she was born here."

"What makes her odd?"

"Her appearance my lord, she has white hair, these big blue eyes and she wore the most unusual clothing." Ataro looked at them in disbelief.

"Did she say what her name was?"

"Yes she was introducing herself to everyone, she was very generous with the merchants and has gained favor with everyone. She called herself Sephira."

Ataro went white and his gray eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Do you know her my lord?" One of his servants asked.

"Did you tell them who you were?"  
"She only asked our names, not who we worked for if that is your concern."

Ataro nodded and walked away, he goes to his room and his heart is beating out of his chest. His head was spinning and feelings he had tried to bury came up with a vengeance. He went back to his servants and told them that if she was there tomorrow, invite her over to dinner. The servants agreed and looked at each other like he had gone a bit mad. But the next day they did as they were told and invited her to dinner. Sephira was flattered by the offer and came. She sat in the sitting room waiting for her mystery host. When Ataro came through the doors, Sephira's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"Ataro?" She asked, not believing her eyes.

"Hello Sephira." His voice was low but still smooth. Sephira shook her head out of the daze she was in.

"So this is where you have been..."

"Yes, cozy isn't it?" Ataro asked, looking about the room. Sephira looked around as well but was not surprised to see a very ornate and richly decorated room but it lacked soul and purpose, it definitely lacked a woman's touch.

"No actually it isn't cozy at all..." Sephira trailed off while looking at Ataro- inside her emotions were fighting it out. She still wanted to hit him- for abandoning her. She also wanted to kiss him because she felt she didn't finish what was started that night so long ago.

Ataro smirked at her reply and gestured for her to come to dinner. She kept looking at him in confusion, wondering how he could keep his cool after all that happened. They sat down to a lovely dinner, she thought they would sit at the very long, large table but he knew her better than that, they sat down to a small round table, perfectly adequate for the two of them. However their conversation did not come easily. After dinner they went to a small library looking room with a fireplace. They sat down, each in a high armchair. Sephira looked at her host and her brain was ablaze with questions. Once he had settled down in his chair she took the opportunity.

"So...where is she?" Sephira asked- baiting the hook.

"Where is who?"

"Your wife, girlfriend or whatever."

"I have neither." Ataro said, smiling at the question and the look of confusion on her face.

"If we are going to play 20 questions than it is my turn. How did you get here?"

"My ship." Was her short reply.

"But there are no sizable bodies of water for miles."

"My ship does not need water."

"How is that even possible?"  
"That's two questions, my turn again, why did you leave me in Arabia?"

"You already asked that question."

"You didn't answer it, all you said was you were sorry."

"Well, to be honest..."

"Please do.."

"I feared for my life, that guy had the better hand in the fight. And the last time I was there it was a sticky situation."

"Sticky situation? You are going to have to do better than that Ataro."

"How does your ship work without water?"

"It floats on air the way other ships float on water, now explain the sticky situation."

"I got caught up in a power struggle and I may have evened the odds."

"By poisoning the other opponents?" Sephira asked, Ataro looked at her in fear, she had somehow found out.

"How could you say such a thing?"

In Arabic she said-

"The man who attacked you- his name was Kadar, he claims you killed his brother in that power struggle you mentioned. The woman yelling at you in the market place that day identified you as the one who killed her grandson."

"When did you learn Arabic?" Ataro asked.

"The day I was thrown into prison because you _**left me there**_ when the guards came, I thought I was being a friend and helping you overtake the attacker but when you heard the guards you ran away, _**I **_had to pay the price of disturbing the peace. Why would you do that? Why would you act so cowardly, something I didn't peg you for, a liar- yes, a thief- perhaps. But not a coward."

"Well I believe you have that one figured out." Was all Ataro would say.

"No- I don't- that's why I'm asking, pleading even, why did you leave me?"

Ataro took a deep breath and went on to explain.

"At the time, I was hired to do such a thing, I'm not proud of it by any means, but that was my job at the time."

"So you are a murderer."

"I believe the term is assassin." Sephira's breath stilled, his candor at saying it was cold and calculating, she didn't like this side of him.

"Assassin?..." Sephira paused at looked at him, realizing he was being really honest and serious with her and it scared her. All Ataro did was nod yes with the look on his face of 'yeah- thought you would have caught on by now'.

"So...how many...have you killed?"

"More than you need or want to know."

"Were you supposed to kill me?" Sephira asked, her anger starting to well up in her.

"No" Ataro said, shaking his head no as he said it.

"Well what were you supposed to do to me then?" Sephira's anger turned to feelings of pain and betrayal which brought tears to her eyes, but she stayed firm.

"What?" Ataro asked, trying to act confused.

"You heard me, I know my brother hired you to get close to me, my guess is that you were hired to get information by what ever means necessary. So my question is what exactly were you hired to do to _**me?**_" Her question was pointed as she wanted it to be, he shifted in his seat- something he had not done when being questioned before. So that should tell you something- this man had gone on trial in more courtrooms and countries than he cared to count. He had killed more people than he wanted to admit, he had done more unspeakable things than anyone should know. Yet until now he had kept his nerve through all of it. He had lied...blatantly...to many, many people. But yet, something about her...something about her raw emotional state that she was in right now, pulled at his heart strings. His cold, calculating, callused heart had warmed up just enough to get snagged by something he could not define, something he couldn't cut out or ignore, something he had a feeling would probably haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't handle this the way he should.

"How did you find out?" Ataro asked- wanting to know what she knew so that he didn't tell her much more than she should know.

"I have always known- you have always had danger written all over you. Call it intuition if you want, but I knew you were after something. I just want you..." Sephira paused trying to make sure she used the right words but where she paused caused a small smirk in the corner of Ataro's mouth. Sephira saw this and blushed slightly but stayed on target- she was getting answers from him once and for all.

"I just want _**real, honest answers **_from you, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Ataro asked, not jokingly but very warningly. Sephira nodded and steeled herself for the truth- the real truth this time- to come out.

"Please." Was her short and simple yet hauntingly elegant answer.

"Well, yet again you are right- I was hired by your brother to get information from you. You have always been threatened by each other. He was concerned by the fact that you seem to be sneaking off all the time, he actually thought you were plotting to kill him."

"If I wanted to kill him, I wouldn't need to plot. I would have done it already. But please go on."

"Well once I found your plans of leaving I told your brother my findings but he insisted you were still hiding things but I insisted that I had gotten all there was out of you."

Sephira clenched her jaw slightly at the sting of the truth but desperately wanted more, she needed to hear it, as heart wrenching and beautifully simple as it might be. Ataro continued on...

"For someone of your stature, capabilities and history I thought you would have many more deeper darker secrets. But I was disappointed..." Sephira's face started to scowl slightly, her jaw still clenched in silent anger, her vision narrowed as Ataro continued further...

"You are as innocent as the day is long. If I had the power others say you do I would rule the world. This has frustrated me from the beginning- you can hold the world in your palm yet you choose not to. Why hold yourself back?" This statement didn't surprise her. Someone like him would crave that kind of power despite his current lifestyle. She took a deep breath and calmly answered him.

"Because it is not meant to be. If I was meant to rule the world, I would not have been defeated by my brothers, I would have succeeded in the first place, built up my own empire and expanded it accordingly. But I was rejected- so my place is to watch and step in when necessary- I really don't care if this disappoints you or not. But I have absolutely no desire to rule the world, the world does not need me to. However...there are times when the weak need help to become strong- there are those that need saving from situations that they themselves can not get out of. That is where I want to be. That is my purpose. But I have one more question..."

"Go ahead."

"So nothing that happened between you and me was real was it?" Ataro tried to answer and then stopped himself. His mouth opened but nothing came out.

"Well?" Sephira asked, becoming slightly impatient.

"No- they were all tricks of the trade." Ataro answered, he was trying to steal his resolve but Sephira could see he was lying.

"Really? Even the time you watched me mourn my dear Valiant? Even the time we spent the night together in my sanctuary? What about what happened at the waterfall?" At that last question her own voice started to quiver. But she suffered through it and continued.

"Even the walks in the woods and the night on the beach at the Sea? All of it was nothing, all of it was fake, all of it was a _**lie?**_" Her eyes started to water as her voice quivered further- betraying her own feelings. She put a hand over her mouth to keep from making any further noise, since she was about to burst out crying. She could see he was moved but would it be enough?


	14. Chapter 14

Sephira

Chapter 13

Sephira saw how Ataro's eyes started to shine from the few tears that flooded them. His lip quivered slightly as he tried to clear his throat to answer her.

"At first...it was." Ataro choked out.

"But what changed?..." Sephira asked in a low husky voice.

"Your complete vulnerability." Ataro answered almost in spite of himself. Sephira looked down and nearly lost it. If anything she was completely vulnerable now.

"Really?" She asked after trying to recover.

"When you were sitting at Valiant's grave...you were so distraught and hopelessly... helpless...I couldn't resist not staying...with you...until...you...recovered." Ataro tried to explain as a small smile threatened to cross Sephira's face, she continued to cover mouth with her hand and long sleeve while he continued on.

"And the walks through the woods...were...wonderful. You were so easy to talk to I felt I could tell you anything."

"And you did tell me a lot of things, however I still have the sneaking suspicion that very few of them were really real." She solemnly stated.

"True."

"So since your words weren't really real, I take it your actions followed suit?" Sephira pressed further.

"No, some of those were actually...genuine." Ataro corrected her.

"Which ones?" Sephira narrowed her gaze again- if he said leaving her in Arabia, she would break his nose if not his neck right here and now.

"Well, obviously the night we spent at your sanctuary...and...the time we were at the waterfall..." At this both of their faces started to blush and Sephira's heart softened.

"Even the Arabian Sea?" She asked with a streak of hope clearly indicated in her inflection.

"Especially the Arabian Sea."

For a moment the world stopped as they smiled at each other in relative silence. Her want to break his nose and all the other thoughts of harming him dissipated into thin air while a look of relief covered her face and a broad smile spread across her features.

"So it was real wasn't it?"

"Dang it.." He cursed under his breath. But his relief was just as evident if not more so than hers. It caused Sephira to actually giggle a little.

"Well it makes you feel better I wouldn't admit it to anyone but myself for a long time. I tried my best to be guarded. But we see where that lead us...listen...it's obvious we have a tortured relationship. You seem content to stay here in this...mansion of a house, alone...and I have...another life to live, places to go, things to learn and other friends to make. So let's make this easy, I came here as a guest and I will leave as one. I was only after answers and I got them. Seclusion is what you are after and that is what I will leave you with, I promise not to tell a soul where you are since I can only assume you have many enemies. But I just wanted to hear you admit to the truth...I will leave you now. Goodbye Ataro." She got up out of the chair but Ataro got up and placed himself between her and the door.

"Please don't leave..not yet.." he pleaded to her in whispers. She looked at him in slight confusion but searching for the answer to his strange request. Before she knew it he was getting closer, his hands finding her waist. He gently pulled her towards him, the look in his eyes was unmistakable. For some reason, her talking about leaving pulled his heart strings to the point he couldn't hide his own feelings any longer, seeing her cry made his heart feel like it was going to rip in half. The thought of never seeing her again nearly killed him the first time, he didn't know if he could handle a second. Especially since he knew she honestly had feelings for him. And since he could no longer deny his own feelings, he did the only thing he could think to do..kiss her.


	15. Chapter 15

Sephira

Chapter 14

Sephira felt herself completely melt in his arms. She could feel herself being guided to another part of the house, she didn't really care at the moment. She found herself in what she assumed was his bedroom. She broke for air only to catch a glimpse of them in the mirror. But what she saw made her blood run cold. She didn't look like herself she looked like someone she had not seen in years and years and years. She looked like she did when... she was Nadia. She quickly inhaled and froze out of fear and couldn't bring her eyes away from the mirror. Ataro stepped back and his own eyes bugged out of his head. One minute he was holding Sephira the next he was holding another woman entirely. Her hair was dark brown, curly and in ringlets, it was the same length but definitely different. Her eyes were deep brown and her skin was a deep golden tan. The shock on her face mirrored his own. He took one more step back and completely let go of her. She looked at him, terrified. But within seconds she re-transformed into Sephira.

"Ok..." He said nervously as if waiting for her to turn back.

"Did you see what I saw?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"That you changed from yourself to someone completely different?"

"Yes..that would be it..." She said slowly, not wanting to believe her eyes she walked over to the mirror and looked at herself closely.

"How...did you do that?" Ataro asked carefully.

"I didn't do anything, it just happened." She tried to explain.

"Well who did you transform into?" He asked stepping closer, afraid to touch her. Sephira began to cry. Ataro then softened his decision to not touch her and took her in his arms. Then it happened again, he went to stroke her hair and it was not what he was expecting. He jumped slightly and she pulled away, quickly trying to look in the mirror again at a face she never thought she would see again. The moment he let go of her she went back to looking like Sephira again. Then she put two and two together. This could be a test from the 'Star'. If Ataro really loved her for her, he would accept what she really was, just a girl with no powers, no special abilities, nothing special. But that would go against what she knew of him from others. But if this was the time to find out, then so be it. She gave herself a small smile and then turned to him and reached out her hand.

"Don't be afraid...I want you to meet the real me." As she said the words she transformed back.

"This is the real you?" Ataro asked, still clearly confused. Sephira looked back into the mirror and smiled at herself.

"Hi, nice to meet you, my real name is Nadia, this is what I would have always looked like if the 'Star' had not entered me. This is what I was born as, I don't know why all of sudden you get to see it but consider yourself lucky...I haven't seen this face in over 20 years. Actually I still look like I'm 20. Huh, I age well I guess." She half laughed, still a bit nervous. Ataro just looked at her. As if meeting a stranger.

"Nadia..." He said after a moment, a look of admiration covering his features.

"Nadia..." She responded, nodding her head.

"I could get used to that." He softly said, almost a whisper, his eyes regaining the fire they had once before.

"Could you now?" She said almost teasingly, her fears disappearing just as quickly as they appeared.

"Uh huh." He whispered back, his nose just grazing hers as he got closer, it didn't take long for him to close the gap and once again stake claim to mouth and effectively stealing her soul.

After that moment Sephira ceased to be seen again because Nadia had taken over once again. Nadia just assumed that the Star had left her to lead a normal life. And for a while she couldn't be happier. Until she saw how Ataro wasn't what she thought he was. Little did she know that he had never considered himself a one woman kind of man, especially since Nadia had no powers, nothing special enough to keep him solely to her. One day she noticed a strange pattern with one of the new maids. She had noticed that she could feel that Ataro's heart was not solely hers anymore. This saddened her, it disappointed her, it infuriated her. It didn't take long for her to catch him cheating on her. The moment she did, the Star's power returned with a vengeance. The maid freaked and ran for her life. Ataro just looked at her with a new fear.

"After ten years of being your wife, being faithful, unwavering, supportive...and it comes down to this. Well if this is what you sew, what you will reap is me leaving you. Pray you never see me again. Goodbye Ataro." She was surprisingly calm, no screaming, no fighting. She just turned around and walked away, stopping briefly in her room to gather her things and left. She got back to her ship, it was as if she had never left it. She was so angry, he didn't even bother to defend himself or say anything, he just let her go, didn't fight to keep her, just let her go as easily as she came. All the love she had seemed to instantly turn to hate. She had the where with all to take the ship into orbit and left it there for while, while her own heart healed. She had been betrayed, her heart felt like it had been ripped apart and burned over hottest fire. It would take a long time for her to feel normal again. But she had a new mission. She was going to save others, save them from fates worth than death, save them from betrayal, save them from whatever anguish they may not be able to save themselves from. That would be her own salvation.


End file.
